I received your request for a sample on Friday and removed a piece from my meteorite and sent it to you via Fed Ex. You will have the piece on Monday afternoon. Please read this entire letter before you open the package I have sent you. A copy of this letter has also been sent to Michael Zolensky (zolensky@snmail.jsc.nasa.gov) who also has a sample of this meteorite.

After receiving your e-mail, I examined the meteorite for a good place to get a sample that met your specifications. I searched for an area which had the fusion crust and also extended into the meteorite. I found a piece that looked like it would come off easily and began the process of outlining where I wanted the break to occur. I have worked rock and brick many times in the past and so knew how to proceed. I had made a few strokes with a small hammer and wedge to exactly mark where I wanted the piece to break. As I was examining it to determine where to strike it so that the piece would come loose, I discovered that it was already loose and had broken much deeper than I had intended. I picked up the piece and immediately placed it in a plastic bag. I wrapped the piece to protect it and boxed and mailed it to you. Another note, written before this one, was placed in the box with the piece.

After I got home from mailing the piece to you, I got curious and examined the place where the piece had broken off. I wondered why it had broken so easily. I had not moved the meteorite and it was still sitting upright with respect to the piece I sent you. I realized that the material at the breaking point was much different than the outer structure. It was sandy. I turned the meteorite over and emptied the little pocket of sand into another plastic bag. There was about ¼ teaspoonful of sand.

As I examined the place where I took your sample in the meteorite, I began to realize that what I appeared to have, is volcanic rock which had covered over some sand. The pockets and crevices along the meteorite appear to have been the place where the sand had once been. The sand had very little structural integrity and those spots on the outside of the meteorite where the sand had been, now revealed themselves as pockets and crevices. But the place where I took the sample broke along a sandy boundary layer which apparently was covered on all sides by the volcanic material and so was sealed within the volcanic material.

Then I became interested in the sand. I carefully poured some onto a white paper and got out my field microscope (25X) which I use weekly while I am nature hiking. As I looked at the material, I saw several different things. First there were small pieces of volcanic material which appears to have been worn down to the size of grains of sands. Next there were grains of sand. I am not a geologist, but they appear to be silicates that are rounded from the action of water. Then I noticed something which made me stop cold. There in my field of vision, was a structure. It looked similar to a small feather or plant leaf. It had a stalk and radiating lines out from it. As I looked further through the debris among the sand, I found other structures. I soon had to realize that I was looking at the remains of living things. One small object seems to be a virtually complete little plant. It is about a 1/16 of an inch long and apparently has a root, a stalk with more than one section, and two "leaves."

I have now been looking at this "debris" for a full day and I still can’t believe what I am seeing. I feel certain that the rock I have is a meteorite and I have always thought it was from Mars. I was the one who found it and I have kept it near me every since. I made the strokes which broke the piece loose that I sent to you. I feel certain, even though I know we have to consider contamination, that the structures I see came from within a rock that I feel certain came from space.

After thinking about this situation over night, I decided to retrace my steps. I realize that the meteorite landed in a sandy meadow and the sand could have come from the impact. So I again examined the spot where I had removed the sample. The surface where the break occurred appears to be all new material and not something previously exposed to the Earth’s atmosphere where it could be contaminated. Then I wondered if maybe the "plant" material could have been a contamination. After carefully looking at the meteorite with my pocket microscope, I noticed that sand still stuck to certain portions of the meteorite in the area where the sample had been removed. I then took a small probe and released some more of the sand material. It was imbedded in the small pores of the volcanic type material. I very carefully removed this sand and kept it separate from the other sand I had removed earlier. I feel certain that all of this sample came from within the meteorite and was not an Earthly contaminant. After examining this sand under the microscope I found numerous objects which appear to have once been living things, probably some kind of plant. This sample was much like the others, except there was at least one object that I had not seen in the other samples. If this is a meteorite from Mars, there could easily be the remains of numerous species, maybe 100 or more inside.

Now I know we are a long way from saying Mars had multi-cellular life, but I think we need to proceed as if the sample I sent you has fossils or remnants of life on or in it. Some of the sand fell into the plastic bag with your sample. From the ratio of debris to sand, I would say there is a good chance that you also have some material with life like structure. Please save every grain within the bag and examine them carefully under a microscope. You should also carefully look at the light or inner surface of the main sample and examine the sand that is still stuck to it. There will probably be more of the "remnants" on those edges of the sample.

Now if we have found the remains of living things on Mars (or somewhere else in the cosmos), then several problems come to mind. In removing the sample I have send you, I have exposed myself and the rest of the world to possible extra-terrestrial organisms. We have no way of knowing at this point in time, if the organisms could be so adapted that they could have survived their long trip to Earth. However, I have had the meteorite in my immediate possession for about 20 years and I know of no way that I have been adversely affected by its presence. But on the other hand, I have just now broken it open. Remember the moon rocks were quarantined to make sure they would be of no harm to humanity. It is too late to quarantine my house, but you have the chance to approach the piece I sent you in an informed manner. When I broke the sample loose, I had no idea I would find something so interesting within, but you are forewarned. Also, when I look at one of the objects with a bright iridescent light, it appears to reflect back bright green in specific spots. Kinda makes me wonder. Please remember that there could be living extraterrestrial life within this meteorite sample and it could be harmful to you. I don’t think so, but I must warn you to prepare yourself.

What I would ask, is that you try to get an analysis of the rock as soon as possible to determine if it is a meteorite and if it came from Mars. If those fact prove true, then I think the rock contains much more of the sandy material and may give us a good representation of different kinds of life that existed when the sand was covered by the volcanic material. I have already identified about ½ dozen possible species.

Although I know that probability favors some kind of terrestrial contamination to explain what I have found, I think we should proceed as if we have Martian life in order to keep the most options open for the future. Please be advised that you may have a very valuable piece of rock and treat it with the respect it deserves. I am having trouble believing what my eyes see, and I know that you too must be skeptical, but please give this situation the benefit of the doubt and keep your mind open. This discovery, if true, would surely represent one of the most exciting times for humanity in general and science in particular. I haven’t been able to sleep at all since making this discovery. Please let me know as soon as you do your analysis and please take all necessary precautions to protect yourself and any others who may work on this sample.

Thank you,

Mike Moore

502 S. Prospect

Amarillo, Texas 79106

(806) 354-9421